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Recommendation to find that excavations are immediately required for the general health, safety, and welfare of the City and cannot be delayed; that alternatives to excavating, such as alternative routing, or construction methods, such as boring or excavation of the parkway, are not possible; approve a discretionary permit to excavate areas on Willow Street and Cherry Avenue, which have been reconstructed within the previous 60 months, in accordance with Section 14.08.060 of the Long Beach Municipal Code. (Districts 5,7)
DISCUSSION
Arco Terminal Services Corporation (Arco) has filed for an excavation permit to perform a Close Interval Potential Survey (CIPS) for two of their pipelines in Willow Street between Terminal Island Freeway and Santa Fe Avenue and for three of their pipelines in Cherry Avenue between Spring Street and 32nd Street (see the attached vicinity maps). A CIPS is a procedure that Arco uses to monitor corrosion in a pipeline by drilling a 1/2"-inch hole through the street pavement every 1 0 feet over the buried pipeline, and then inserting a probe to read and record the pipeline's electrical potential. Afterwards, the holes are patched with a filler.
Long Beach Municipal Code Section 14.08.060, Public Works permit-issuance, requires that a permit for an excavation in a City street that has undergone reconstruction within the previous 60 months and is not for an emergency repair or for a new utility service connection, be deemed discretionary and subject to the approval of the City Council. Willow Street between Terminal Island Freeway and Santa Fe Avenue was reconstructed in May 2005 and is under an excavation moratorium until May 2010. Cherry Avenue between Spring Street and 32nd Street was reconstructed in June 2006 and is under an excavation moratorium until June 2011.
Section 14.08.060 further states that the City Council may authorize a discretionary permit if:
> The applicant can demonstrate that the permit for excavation is immediately required for the general health, safety, and welfare of the City and cannot be delayed until after the street's moratorium has expired.
> The applicant can demonstrate that alternatives to excavating, such as alternative routing; or construction methods, such as boring or excavation of the parkway, are not possible.
The proposed excavations of Willow Street and Cherry Avenue are necessary for the general health, safety, and welfare of the City and cannot be delayed until after the moratoriums have expired because the integrity of the pipelines in these two streets needs to be evaluated to determine if they meet the current standards administered by the California State Fire Marshal and to determine if they meet federal DOT regulations.
Alternatives to excavating in the streets, such as slant drilling in the parkway toward the pipelines, have been considered and rejected because adjacent pipelines are blocking direct access. It has been found that to ensure accurate readings, the holes must be drilled directly over the pipeline in order to avoid reading other pipelines in the streets. Since the inspection holes are only % inch in diameter, the required work will no result in degradation of the new pavement surface and it will be restored to the satisfaction of the City Engineer.
The Department of Public Works has reviewed the application and found the proposed CIPS to be compatible with existing installations and not an obstacle to any street use or any known proposed developments. Traffic control requirements stipulated by the Traffic and Transportation Engineering Division will be made a part of the special conditions for the excavation permit. City approved liability insurance for the discretionary permit is on file.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Linda Trang on December 14, 2009 and Budget and Performance Management Bureau Manager David Wodynski on December 15,2009.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action on this matter is requested on January 5, 2010, in order that Arco may complete the corrosion survey in the month of January.
FISCAL IMPACT
If the discretionary permit is approved, a permit fee of approximately $2,500 will be deposited to the General Fund (GP) in the Department of Public Works (PW).
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
MICHAEL P. CONWAY
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
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PATRICK H. WEST |
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CITY MANAGER |